


Come What May (I Will Love You Until My Dying Day)

by itsOzzie



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Blood and Injury, Character Death, F/F, Hate Crimes, Homophobia, Hospitalization, Knives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28679058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsOzzie/pseuds/itsOzzie
Summary: One day when Greg gets home, no one's there and he has a bad feeling about it. What happens next changes the lives of four teenagers forever.
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan, Emma Nolan & Kevin (The Prom Musical), Greg & Emma Nolan (The Prom Musical)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	Come What May (I Will Love You Until My Dying Day)

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from Moulin Rouge the Musical because it ~destroyed me~ and inspired this. I promise it wasn't meant to be this sad but then everything happened on the 6th and at that point, it was out of my control.
> 
> I promise it has no relation to Swim AU despite a mention of swim practice.
> 
> Loads of TW's: Hate Crimes, Blood, and other injuries, knives, homophobia, hospitals, and death.

Gregory Nolan felt like he was living in some sort of cheesy dramatic movie as he was walking home from the bus stop, that was how hard it was raining. He wanted to be excited that he had just gotten out of swim practice, but instead, he got to be cold and wet all over again. He was even more unsettled by how the rain had apparently been a symbol for a very dramatic moment. The driveway was empty, and there was no sign of anyone home. The blinds were shut and the lights were off. He almost expected some sort of jumpscare as he made his way up the porch steps and the old door creaked open. As he noticed the phone was out-of-place, he was certain that he was about to be killed, until he saw the note next to it on the table.

_ I've gone out looking for Emma. She was meant to be home half an hour ago as I'm writing this. My calls didn't go through. I contacted the school, they don't know anything. If you know someone who might know where she is, call them for me. _

Glancing at the clock, Greg realized it had easily been nearly forty minutes since his Grandmother would've written that, and he suddenly got nervous. Emma walked home after being kicked out because riding the bus was "basically asking for harassment," in her words, but anything could happen in a twenty-minute walk, too.

It wasn't his own death he had to worry about.

His heart jolted in his chest as he realized the implications of everything he'd walked in to find. He unlocked his phone to check it and make a couple of calls and found no update from his grandmother. So that meant Emma had been missing for an hour and a half. Fuck. He fumbled to call Alyssa and the phone was ringing for far too long.

She was sitting in the cafeteria, waiting for her turn to debate in a few minutes. The kids who were on in the gym could be faintly heard from down the hallway, and Shelby was talking to Alyssa over the sound when her phone rang. She tried to ignore it, but eventually, it pierced through Shelby's words.

"Go ahead," Shelby finally told her.

"Oh, thank God, you're okay," Greg's voice came over the line.

Alyssa laughed as her stomach plummeted because she didn't know what else to say. "Wait, what happened that you'd think I'm not okay?"

"I don't know. Nobody's seen Emma in over an hour and Gran's been looking all over town for her and I just wanted to make sure you weren't with her or something when whatever shit happened."

"No, I'm fine. I have a debate tonight. I'm still at school."

"Have you seen her?"

"No, not since school let out."

"Shit, just what I thought."

"Keep me updated, okay? I gotta go out there soon-ish. I'll text you and if you still haven't figured it out by then I'll be right over."

"Sorry for the bad timing."

"Nonsense. I care more about you guys than whatever nonsense I have to go out there and talk about.”

Alyssa could practically feel Greg force a smile over the phone as he bid her goodbye and she hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Shelby asked after a moment of lingering silence.

Alyssa just sighed.

Great. A few minutes of precious time that could be life-or-death had been wasted, and the person who knew Emma best wasn't even sure of her whereabouts. Greg couldn't just sit here anymore, so he made another quick call to a boy who might as well be her last friend that he hadn't contacted. He answered a lot quicker than Alyssa, indicating that he was already home from basketball practice.

"What's up, dude?"

"You haven't seen Emma, have you?"

"No, why?"

"Of course not. Listen, I need to borrow your car."

"Can you even drive?"

"...So you can drive."

"What is going on?"

"No one has heard from Emma in over an hour. Not the school, not Gran, not even her girlfriend. I'm certain something happened to her. Please, I need your help."

Greg could hear Kevin standing up from his bed. "Where do I meet you?"

"My place."

"See you in 10."

Then the line clicked, and so began the longest 10 minutes of Greg's life.

It was hard for Kevin to explain why he was running out of the house again after he just got home, so he simply shouted "It's an emergency," while shoving his coat back on. Once he zipped it up he crossed his fingers at his waist in hopes that his parents heard his yell from across the house, and that he wasn't too late. With one hand still occupied with crossed fingers, he shoved the door open with his other. Eventually, he pulled into Greg's driveway to find him already standing outside. Kevin pulled the driver's door open and Greg climbed in without Kevin even stepping out of the car.

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere Gran couldn't have checked."

"That's a lot of places."

They narrowed it down rather quickly. This had to be a spot somewhere on Emma’s usual route home where people tend to hang out, leading them to eventually land on the 24-Mart being the first place they looked.

If there was anyone here at some point, it didn’t look like it, but from the moment Greg stepped onto the asphalt of the side of the road that was slightly flooded with rainwater, the bad feeling that came to him when he first turned the corner onto his street came rushing back like a punch in the gut.

“She was here,” he said, already taking off into the parking lot at the back of the store, searching vigorously for any signs to confirm it. 

Once again Kevin was left to shut the car door behind them, and in being left behind he noticed something lying on the curb. Upon closer inspection, it was a phone lying in the rain. He turned around to get a look at the screen, trying to distinguish between if it had been dropped or deliberately ruined, and it was shattered beyond repair as if a hole had been carved into it. This was intentional, and there was no convincing Kevin Shields otherwise.

He ran up to where Greg was inspecting the bushes at the edge of the property.

“Dude, look what I found.”

Greg turned for only a moment to look at the destroyed phone, and when he caught a glimpse of it, he turned back around and muttered, “I knew it,” under his breath.

It was then his hand hit something plastic and he tried not to get his hopes up on finding another clue, but then his worst nightmare really cemented as he fished Emma's glasses out of the bushes. Though he questioned how they could be called glasses when one of the earpieces was gone, the lenses were just as shattered as the phone in Kevin’s hand and they were caked in mud that filled the cracks.

Just behind the parking lot they were standing in, the town stretched into the woods, and suddenly it all made sense. The two boys didn't even need to exchange words to know what to do next.

They weren't sure they'd be able to get anywhere like this. It was near impossible to see through the mix of rain and trees, and they were soaked and freezing by the time they found any sort of clearing. They kept going despite themselves, thinking of how Emma must have felt. The cold rain was disheartening, and perhaps the boys thought they hit a dead end when Kevin tripped over something...although that wasn't an uncommon occurrence today.

“Stupid branches,” he muttered, about to shove them out of his path when he realized something.

They weren’t branches. It was a jacket. And when he picked it up he recognized it was Emma's. That was all they needed to pick up the pace, not carrying on for too much longer before they found a human figure lying crooked in the middle of another bed of trees. In theory, it was Emma. In reality, it was a shell of a human, barely colored except for the purple on the tips of its fingers. It was limp, yet appeared to be peaceful despite the bruises covering its face and legs. A brown line trailed from its nose and miscellaneous scratches and scrapes, whose bleeding had been long dried, lined its arms because nothing could be spared when it came to slaughter.

“Emma!”

No reaction. Of course.

“Oh God, Emma!”

A distressed Greg sprinted over to the body, which wasn't disturbed by the rustling of leaves on the forest floor.

“Emma! Emma!” 

He continued to scream now, not caring how loud he was. He hovered over her, tears already beginning to spill and nearly falling onto her shirt. It was then that he saw a barely existent rise and fall of her chest in what was hardly a rhythm, and suddenly he was shaking her violently. Perhaps he didn't realize he was doing so in the storm of his emotions. It had some effect, though, because her eyes slid open and after a few seconds of attempting to readjust to her circumstance she attempted to move away from the screaming boy, only to find that when she bore weight at all her body collapsed beneath her. So she stared up at him, silent and wide-eyed, until another boy, who she hadn't noticed before in such an abrupt jolt to consciousness, was pulling him away from her, whispering something she couldn't comprehend. She took a breath to say something to the strangers before realizing she didn't know if they were the same people who got her here. It didn't matter anyway, because the moment she exhaled she was gasping and wheezing for air, and then the boy who wasn't hysterically crying walked over to her.

“You're not finishing me off?” she rasped when she got control of her breathing, which was still shallow. 

Breathing hurt.

“Who do you think we are?”

“...Dunno?” she slurred, uncertain of her own answer.

_ Fuck, what did she remember? _

“Well, we're not whoever did this,” the boy promised, and she was forced to believe him blindly. “We've been looking for you for ages.”

There were only two boys in town who would admit to that and they were both here. “...Kevin?” She guessed.

He nodded, and immediately she relaxed.

Whether she wanted to or not her newfound comfort in knowing her friend was there led to her voice turning to a whimper. “Hurts...everywhere,” came the nearly incoherent mumble with a cracking voice, and suddenly tears were flowing.

“I know, I know,” he coaxed. “Greg’s calling an ambulance, and your Gran.”

“Lys--” she coughed out suddenly at the mention of calls, surprising Kevin with a sudden burst of energy as she tried to sit up and then quickly faltered with a groan, clasping a hand over her chest.

The sight of it made Kevin almost not realize what she’d said. In fact, it wasn’t until he commanded her to stay lying down that he recognized it. Emma, in her delirious pain, had told Kevin the name of her girlfriend. Suddenly he felt a little sick, the strange rush of knowing he saw something he wasn’t meant to see. Then the strange, twisted aftershock of that illness came with almost no hesitation.

How bad did she think this was?

“No, no, no...Don’t even go there, Em,” he muttered, keeping it even more hushed than he had been before, just to make sure the still hysterical Greg couldn’t hear what they were both clearly implying. “Not after all this. Not after fighting this long.”

“How long has it been?” she murmured, nearly inaudible.

Yet the heaves of her breath were quieter.

“Two hours.”

She was silent for a moment. Then, at the same nearly-inaudible volume, said, “I can’t do this.”

Kevin was silent for a while. He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t tell her it would be okay because he couldn’t say for certain that it would be. He couldn’t say she’d recover or that they’d find who did this, because he didn’t know anymore if God, no, if the world, was all that good. Did everything really happen for a reason, or was it all dumb luck? If Emma hadn’t passed the 24-Mart, she wouldn’t be soaked to the bone in the woods and practically immobile. If Kevin hadn’t been home yet, there was yet another universe where Greg couldn’t get here in time. Strange how all of them could plausibly be real. 

Somehow, in the midst of his existential crisis, the ambulance sirens cut through his inner monologue and then he noticed Emma’s eyes slide shut, and all of a sudden he knew what to say. He shook her lightly to keep her conscious, noting how cold she was, and she groaned. There were incoherent words as she tried to move again.

“No matter what, I’ll tell her you love her.”

Every breath she was taking was now aided by physical labor, and Kevin couldn’t tell if it just made the pain better or if it was because of something worse. She nodded slowly, caught off-guard by the sound of sirens that felt like they came from nowhere.

“Kev?” she squeaked.

“Yeah?”

“I’m tired.”

“Just a few more minutes.”

He watched as paramedics came in and hauled Emma out of the woods, unsure if she’d remember it. Only when she was out of sight did he break down sobbing, and the two boys cried into each other until they started hearing police sirens and reality hit them again that this was a crime scene. Their shirts were covered in each other’s tears by the time they stumbled back into the parking lot, finding it swarmed with police cars. They watch as she’s moved on a stretcher into an ambulance. It’s here that Betsy Nolan pulled into the lot, watching as a whole troop of cops piled out of their cars, asking what she was doing here as they taped off as much of the woods as they could.

“My...my granddaughter--she was the one found here.”

“And your name?”

“Betsy Nolan.”

The cop she was talking to stopped suddenly as if it was only then that he realized who that information made the girl. Finally, he grumbled, “We’re gonna need a statement.”

“Are you annoyed suddenly, realizing whose life you’re saving?”

“Ma’am--”

“Don’t ma’am me, I saw the look on your face. Perhaps when you get your head out of your ass and perform your job without a bias, I’ll give you what you need. Remember that Emma still has people who love her, and if you had been a better father and taught your kids compassion, we wouldn’t be here in this frankly embarrassing situation,” she finishes her pointed rant and the cop looks offended. Betsy, meanwhile, turns around to find Greg, a mess on the curb with his friend. Kevin. She recognizes him too.

“Are you boys okay?”

Greg just replied with an ugly sob into Betsy’s blouse. Kevin looked up at her nervously, like he was too scared to tell her what they saw.

“I should go,” he said finally. “I feel like I’ve intruded on something.” Then he gets back into his car and doesn’t move for a little while.

It’s even longer before the cops collect the rest of the information on the people at the scene. Names, addresses, phone numbers, then  _ we’ll get back to you.  _

Then Kevin was racing to James Madison, and he got there as Alyssa and Shelby were walking out. Shit, he didn’t think of Shelby. He hadn’t been thinking at all, what was he supposed to say when she realized he’d been at the 24-Mart when the cops showed up. Would she think he tried to kill her, or question why he helped her? Neither outcome looked good.

“Hey, babe!”

Kevin was staring at them like he’d seen a ghost all of a sudden.

Babe.  _ Babe _ . How the hell was Kevin supposed to cope with the idea of long-term love after nearly watching his best friend die? He couldn’t deal with even the idea of losing Shelby, too.

...He had the sudden, horrible thought that he’d be cutting her off himself.

“I need to talk to Alyssa,” he said, almost robotically.

Her heart sank all of a sudden. She knew Emma and Kevin still hung out on occasion, so it was likely that he knew what was going on. Utterly helpless for a moment, she looked between the broken look on Kevin’s face and the confused look on Shelby’s face. Finally, Shelby muttered something.

“I’ll cover you.”

_ She was just trying to get home. Before then, it had been a regular Tuesday afternoon. Then as she was passing the 24-Mart she noticed this pair of guys covering their faces. The moment she locked eyes with them, she regretted it, and they lunged after her. In a panic, she pulled out her phone, but they swarmed her faster than she could make a call home. One of them whisked her phone out of her hand before she could push them away, throwing it right there at the side of the road. She watched it hit the ground, and while she was distracted by an ugly thunk, the other boy grabbed her glasses and curled them in his fist, breaking the lenses into a million pieces. She was blindly shoving them away now, but it wasn’t enough because they easily picked her up from under her armpits, dragging her into the parking lot in hopes to get her somewhere where they wouldn’t be seen, and the boy who wasn’t clutching her glasses had a hand on her neck that would later leave a nasty reddish-purple mark. She was kicking and flailing in their grasp, knowing screaming for help was effectively useless. This proved useful after a few treacherous seconds because her foot grazed one of the boys’ legs and shocked him enough that he dropped her. They continued to scuffle for a bit but the boys could fight much better. Her face was covered in bruises by the time they managed to slam her into the wall of the building, and suddenly she felt woozy. She saw one of the guys pull out a knife, keeping her against the wall with another hand on her shoulder, and it was only now that one of them spoke, though it sounded faint and unrecognizable to Emma. _

_ “Woah, dude, using that out here is asking to get caught.” _

_ “I wasn’t gonna kill her directly. Just...make it easier to get her out of the lot.” _

_ She continued writhing, but that didn’t stop him from cutting through her jacket and drawing a thin line down the arm he’s holding in place. She started screaming in pain only then, and as he raced to get a hold of her other arm she swung a punch with her better arm. It was a bad idea in hindsight as after he dodged her, he grabbed that arm too. He wrestled with her jacket and pulled it off, swinging it over his shoulder casually before he cut into her other arm. Her arms were now in too much pain for her to fight back and her vision went white at the edges as the boys hauled her into the forest. They must have thought she lost consciousness eventually because suddenly they dropped her on the ground, and she landed on the ground with a thud and a tiny pop in her chest. Her jacket was dropped over the top of her and she struggled to move for a few feet, just to make sure she still could, before blacking out for certain this time. _

Emma woke up screaming and beeping from beside her kept growing faster and faster. From somewhere outside of wherever she was, someone ran in.

“Who are you?! Where am I?!”

“I’m Doctor Grey, and you’re in the hospital. Wherever you were when this happened, you’re not there anymore, and no one can hurt you here, I promise,” his calm, steady voice forced Emma to take a breath because she suddenly felt like she was way too loud.

“I take it you’re Emma Nolan,” he says once she appeared to get control of herself, despite the fact that he already knew that from her chart. It was all a matter of getting her to feel safe.

She nodded.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m sorry about all that, I just--” she cut herself off.

“Trust me, I’ve seen worse. You’ve got nothing to worry about, okay?”

“Okay.”

Emma didn’t remember much of her next weeks in the hospital. It was a haze of drugs and sleepless nights and memories otherwise blocked by her brain thanks to the agony she was in. Every day at visiting hours she found herself falling into a doze, but still, Alyssa would visit her, and none of the staff bat an eye, as if they expected it from such a perfect kid. Anything she wanted to tell Emma, she’d whisper into the solemn air of her tiny room.

_ I screwed up the debate competition because I was worried about you, but it was worth it. You’re worth everything. _

_ School’s unbearable without you. _

_ Greg can’t stand to see you like this. That’s why he hasn’t come to visit with your Gran. _

_ I know you need your rest but I just wish you knew I’m here. _

_ I’m not going anywhere. _

_ Kevin broke up with Shelby before church today. This is unraveling all of us. _

_ I miss you. _

_ Please, God, let her be okay. I can’t live without her! _

_ I promise I’ll take care of you. _

_ I couldn’t hide anymore. I told my mom I’m in love with you, because who knows how long we’ve got. It went as you’d expect. I wish I could’ve had you there. _

_ They all hate me now, I shouldn’t be surprised...but I meant it when I said you’re worth it. _

_ Stay with me. _

_...Stay with me, Emma. _

_ Emma?! _

**Author's Note:**

> I accept all hate mail and I promise fluff in the next chapter of Swim AU. Can't believe I did this instead of that.


End file.
